


Episode Seven: "You Don't Need To Keep So Many Secrets."

by iriswrites



Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [8]
Category: Original Work, SKAM (Norway), SKAM (TV) RPF
Genre: Gen, Multi, also i had that whole sanderson sister conversation with my friend yesterday, and we're pushing people away now fantastic, fuck em up elias, i'm not that original, it's the way that karthik and nikita are both eskild at the same time, me being hindu part two: burgers, skam 2x07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27314605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iriswrites/pseuds/iriswrites
Summary: Rubina Patil’s already made a plan for the next two years: work her way into the running for valedictorian, get into Barnard on the pre~med track, and get the hell out of Massachusetts. Yeah, she’s constantly stressed out, and counting calories is the only thing that keeps her in control of her life, but it doesn’t matter. When she gets these three things, she can relax. Until then, she’ll just keep on working.Elias Rivera is not a part of this plan. Ruby shouldn't even be thinking about him. He's just another worry on her brain, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't get him off of her mind.Control. That's what Ruby will get. She'll stop at nothing to achieve that.Too bad her body's got other plans.
Relationships: Rubina "Ruby" Patil/Elias Rivera
Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879771
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Hocus Pocus

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 7:47 P.M.

INT. LIVING ROOM

The girls are all sitting on GRACIELA'S couch as _Hocus Pocus_ plays quietly in the background. They're not really paying attention that much as JULIET'S got her phone up, looking for something on it.

RUBY is sitting slightly detached from them, her head leaning on the back of the couch as she tries to watch the movie. She's unable to focus on anything, even JULIET, who's excitedly explaining something beside her.

GRACIELA:  
[suddenly] Do you think that Ms. Jennings is a Sanderson sister?

RUBY looks up, her eyebrows raised.

RUBY:  
What?

GRACIELA:  
Ms. Jennings. Did you see how Connor deleted his discussion post last night?

RUBY:  
...yes?

GRACIELA:  
She definitely hexed him.

RUBY laughs, a bit shocked.

RUBY:  
Because he deleted his post?

GRACIELA:  
Well, yeah. He did it wrong, didn't you see it? And Jennings is crazy, remember how she threatened to expel Maddie because she accidentally did her essay on a Word document instead of Google Docs? She hexed him. I'll be surprised if we see him on school on Monday.

RUBY:  
Why does that make her a Sanderson sister, though? Why can't she just be a witch?

GRACIELA:  
The moon's full tonight, right? So last night it was round enough, I think, and it was the day before Halloween. So there are no regular witches. Just the Sanderson sisters.

RUBY:  
[laughing] You're weird as fuck, Graciela.

GRACIELA flips her hair, laughing, and then sticks her feet in RUBY'S lap as she leans backwards into HOLLY'S. JULIET looks over at her empty beer on the side table, grimacing.

JULIET:  
Fuck, I'm out.

She looks over at GRACIELA.

JULIET:  
Do you have any more?

GRACIELA:  
Um...

She cuts her eyes over to KARIMA, who raises her eyebrows slightly.

GRACIELA:  
No, I'm out.

JULIET:  
Dammit.

She pushes the empty beer aside. The movie continues in the background as the girls go quiet. After a couple of moments, HOLLY sighs and reaches forward to pause the movie. GRACIELA glares at her.

HOLLY:  
Can we talk about last night?

RUBY:  
No.

JULIET:  
What happened last night?

HOLLY gives RUBY a look, who rolls her eyes.

RUBY:  
It's not that big of a deal.

HOLLY:  
Yes, it is.

RUBY:  
Why are we talking about it right now?

HOLLY:  
We're your friends. We can talk this out.

KARIMA:  
Ruby?

RUBY:  
It's nothing. Holly saw something and I think she took it the wrong way.

HOLLY:  
Ruby, come on~~

RUBY:  
It's nothing, okay?

JULIET:  
What did she see?

RUBY:  
Nothing important.

GRACIELA sighs.

GRACIELA:  
For fuck's sake, Ruby, we're your best friends. You can talk to us.

RUBY:  
I do!

GRACIELA:  
...not really, though? Like, you never talk about your feelings, you know? You just...help us with ours.

RUBY:  
That's because I don't need to talk about my feelings.

KARIMA rolls her eyes, but not in a mean way.

KARIMA:  
Everyone does, come on.

RUBY:  
Okay, well, I don't.

There's an awkward silence. RUBY groans.

RUBY:  
Look, I came here to watch movies, not talk about myself, so can we do that?

GRACIELA shrugs, a little put off by RUBY'S attitude.

GRACIELA:  
You don't need to keep so many secrets. That's all I'm saying.

RUBY stops, unsure of how to respond to that, as JULIET tentatively reaches forward to grab the remote and unpause the movie. The movie restarts and the camera cuts to a full shot of the girls on the couch, except now RUBY is sitting even farther apart from the rest of the girls.


	2. Twenty Seconds

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 10:45 A.M.

 _Be Around_ Me by Will Joseph Cook plays over shots of the Boston streets before focusing on Clearwater High School's courtyards and the students in it.

INT. CHEMISTRY CLASSROOM

RUBY and ELIAS are kissing in a chemistry classroom, the door closed and the room empty. RUBY is sitting on top of a desk to be closer to ELIAS'S height. After a moment, ELIAS pulls away.

ELIAS:  
I have calc.

RUBY laughs and kisses him again. He smiles, kissing her back, but then pulls away again.

ELIAS:  
No, seriously. The bell's about to ring.

RUBY:  
So?

ELIAS stares at her for a moment, an incredulous smile on his face, and then leans in to kiss her again.

They continue kissing for a couple moments, but ELIAS'S phone buzzes in the middle, prompting him to pull away. RUBY groans, and ELIAS shakes his head, smiling as he checks his phone.

ELIAS:  
And now Sohrab's asking me where I am.

RUBY:  
You've still got, like, twenty seconds.

ELIAS:  
Twenty seconds to get to the room.

He kisses her quickly, stares at her for a second, and then kisses her again before pulling away and grabbing his backpack.

RUBY:  
[laughing] You're the worst.

ELIAS:  
I'm a good kisser, though.

RUBY:  
Yeah, that's the only reason why I keep you around.

ELIAS snorts.

ELIAS:  
I'll see you after school?

RUBY:  
Mhmm.

She gets off of the desk, presumably to kiss him again, but he moves away, laughing.

ELIAS:  
I'm never gonna make it to class!

RUBY laughs, flipping him off, and he smiles at her before exiting the room. RUBY waits in the classroom for a long moment, checking her reflection off of a mirror in front of the sink.

She straightens her shirt, redoes her ponytail, and hastily does her lipstick again.

She stares at herself again, thinking, before turning around and heading out the door, slamming the door behind her.

INT. LIBRARY

RUBY enters the library and finds GRACIELA and HOLLY sitting at a table, a textbook open in front of them. She slides in across from them, setting her water bottle on the table and slapping on a smile.

RUBY:  
Hey!

HOLLY:  
Hey, we were just~~

She looks up, her sentence dying on her lips. 

RUBY:  
What?

HOLLY:  
Uh...messy?

RUBY:  
Oh, um, I just ate, so I had to redo it.

GRACIELA:  
Dick?

HOLLY snorts, and RUBY'S mouth falls open, smiling slightly.

RUBY:  
Graciela!

GRACIELA:  
That was funny!

HOLLY:  
It kind of was.

RUBY shakes her head, smiling, and pulls up her phone camera, fixing her lipstick with her finger. GRACIELA puts down her pen.

GRACIELA:  
So there's another party this weekend. If you're feeling okay to come.

RUBY:  
Whose is it?

GRACIELA:  
Julian's. But it's actually at his house this time, so...

RUBY:  
Sounds okay. Maybe I'll be there.

HOLLY:  
You know, he's got a few of his rich friends coming. You know, Wellesley, Weston, shit like that. They might be your type.

RUBY:  
What?

HOLLY:  
I'm not~~I'm not saying that you're like them, they're just...you know. Nicer than a lot of guys here. Because of their fancy statehouse dinners and shit.

GRACIELA:  
Girl, come on, they're gonna gaslight her.

RUBY snorts.

GRACIELA:  
But maybe you should find a hookup? It might distract you from...whatever you're feeling.

RUBY:  
That is very much _not_ a healthy way to deal with it.

GRACIELA laugh as RUBY takes a sip from her water bottle..

GRACIELA:  
No, I know, it's just that...you haven't gotten any action since _Elias_ asked you out.

RUBY chokes slightly, and HOLLY gives her a look as GRACIELA keeps on talking.

GRACIELA:  
And, like...come on, it's Elias. You can do better than him.

HOLLY:  
To be fair, you're...you know, related to him.

GRACIELA:  
That's beside the point. Ruby, you're gorgeous! There are probably tons of people who have crushes on you! Girls and guys! So you should give one of them a chance!

RUBY smiles, shaking her head.

RUBY:  
I don't need a hookup.

GRACIELA:  
Obviously not, but you can _want_ one.

RUBY:  
Or that. I don't want one either.

HOLLY:  
[teasingly] Boring.

RUBY laughs.

RUBY:  
You're all so mean to me.

GRACIELA:  
It's because we love you.

GRACIELA gets serious for a moment.

GRACIELA:  
We do. We love you.

HOLLY:  
Even when you bully me for liking country music.

RUBY:  
Well, you deserved that...

HOLLY:  
I did _not!_

GRACIELA:  
But you can talk to us about anything. Even when things get bad. You've gotta know that.

RUBY nods.

RUBY:  
Yeah. I know that.

GRACIELA:  
Good.

She pushes her textbook forward so that RUBY can see it.

GRACIELA:  
Okay, so you've gotta help us with this map...

Their voices fade out as the camera cuts away.


	3. Total Angels

WEDNESDAY, 5:52 P.M.

INT. BEDROOM

RUBY is lying stomach down on her bed, a binder open in front of her. At her desk, ELIAS is spinning around in a chair, a paper held up in front of him.

RUBY:  
Okay, and then...alpha glucose.

ELIAS:  
[practiced] It's a monomer for starch and glycogen. You do beta glucose.

RUBY:  
Monomer for cellulose and chitin. Enantiomers.

ELIAS:  
Um...

He stops, thinking. RUBY smiles slightly.

ELIAS:  
Shit, I don't know. I can't think straight.

RUBY:  
God, me neither. I went to bed at, like, three in the morning.

ELIAS:  
And we're not even gonna know until, like, Friday, which is the worst, so...I don't know. It's all bullshit.

RUBY:  
Yeah. I don't know. I couldn't focus all day.

ELIAS pushes his chair closer.

ELIAS:  
It'll probably be fine, though, right?

RUBY:  
The key word in there is _probably._

ELIAS snorts, and then after a moment of staring at her lips, he leans in to kiss her. RUBY smiles, but before they can do anything, the door bangs open.

NIKITA (O.S.):  
Ruby, where's my~~

RUBY'S head whirls around, where NIKITA is standing open~mouthed.

RUBY:  
Niki, seriously, don't~~

NIKITA screams, and RUBY groans, her head falling into her hands. From downstairs, someone can be heard walking, and after a moment, KARTHIK appears in the doorway.

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
What the fuck~~

He stops, catching sight of ELIAS, who pushes his chair back.

KARTHIK:  
Whatthe _fuck?_

ELIAS:  
Should I go?

RUBY:  
[slightly irritated] No, you're fine.

She looks up.

RUBY:  
What?

NIKITA;  
Is this the boyfriend?

RUBY:  
Yeah?

KARTHIK:  
Oh my god!

NIKITA:  
We're, like, your biggest fans.

ELIAS laughs nervously.

ELIAS:  
What?

RUBY:  
Oh my god.

KARTHIK:  
We were waiting to meet you!

NIKITA:  
Yeah, totally!

KARTHIK:  
Ruby's just been so uptight all the time, and we were hoping that you'd look like you could help her with that, so~~

RUBY:  
_Uptight?_

KARTHIK:  
Yeah. [to ELIAS] She needs dick, dude. That'll help her.

ELIAS'S eyes widen slightly.

ELIAS:  
I, uh...

RUBY:  
Can you, like...not?

NIKITA:  
Not what?

KARTHIK:  
We're total angels, aren't we, Niki?

NIKITA:  
Yeah! Golden children!

KARTHIK snorts.

KARTHIK:  
Yeah, right.

RUBY:  
Guys.

KARTHIK:  
Right. Sorry. We'll leave now.

He turns to exit, but stops before he does.

KARTHIK:  
You'll get used to us. It just takes some time.

RUBY:  
More like sixteen years.

KARTHIK cackles and runs out of the room. NIKITA goes to follow him, but she stops too.

NIKITA:  
Elias?

ELIAS:  
Yeah?

NIKITA:  
It's nice to meet you.

ELIAS smiles, a bit shocked.

ELIAS:  
You too.

NIKITA waves and follows KARTHIK out of the room. RUBY stares in her direction for a moment before rolling her eyes.

RUBY:  
Sorry about them.

ELIAS:  
They seem cool.

RUBY:  
They're okay. Just...they're a lot.

ELIAS shrugs.

ELIAS:  
A lot seems nice, though.

Realization dawns over RUBY'S face.

RUBY:  
Fuck, sorry, I didn't even think...

ELIAS:  
If my brother was any more than he is I'd probably hate him even more, so it's fine.

They're quiet for a moment, before ELIAS looks back at his paper.

ELIAS:  
Enantiomers. Mirror image structures.

RUBY smiles slightly.

ELIAS:  
Yeah?

RUBY:  
Yeah.

She looks back into her binder as their voices fade out, and as ELIAS says something to make RUBY burst out into laughter, the camera cuts away.


	4. Stressed

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2:42 P.M.

INT. HALLWAY

RUBY, JULIET and KARIMA are all sitting together in the hallway, a binder out in front of KARIMA. 

KARIMA:  
Okay, so all that's left for my part is the presentation, which we'll do next week. Jules, how much do you have left?

JULIET:  
I don't know? Like, half of it?

KARIMA sighs.

KARIMA:  
This part is due on Monday.

JULIET:  
So I'll finish it up on Saturday and then we can share the work on Sunday.

KARIMA:  
Why can't you do it tomorrow?

JULIET:  
Because we're going to that party tomorrow, remember?

KARIMA gives RUBY a look, who shrugs, trying to keep herself from laughing.

KARIMA:  
Okay, fine. Tonight.

JULIET:  
Can I just do it on Saturday? I've got a ton of physics homework tonight.

KARIMA rolls her eyes.

KARIMA:  
Fine, whatever. Ruby? How much do you have left? Did you at least finish your research?

RUBY:  
Yeah, I did.  
  


She frowns.

RUBY:  
I think so.

KARIMA:  
 _Guys._

RUBY:  
Look, I'll finish it tonight, okay? I've been really stressed out all week.

KARIMA:  
Are you sure you'll get it done?

RUBY:  
Yeah. Promise.

KARIMA:  
Thanks.

She looks back into the binder.

KARIMA:  
So...if the research is done tonight, and the writing assignment is done by Sunday, we can meet on, like, Wednesday to do the slides?

RUBY:  
Sounds good to me.

JULIET:  
Me too.

A beat. JULIET is looking down into her phone. She smiles after a moment.

KARIMA:  
Who are you texting?

JULIET:  
No one.

RUBY:  
Oh my god, is it Nico?

JULIET:  
It's not~~no. It's not Nico.

KARIMA:  
Are you guys, like, a thing now or what?

JULIET:  
No? We weren't planning to be.

KARIMA:  
Does he know that?

JULIET:  
He better. I think that it's obvious that I don't want a relationship right now.

RUBY:  
So then who are you texting?

JULIET blushes lightly.

JULIET:  
I said no one, god.

RUBY and KARIMA exchange a look, smiling. JULIET rolls her eyes, standing up.

JULIET:  
Okay, I'm out of here.

KARIMA:  
School doesn't end for another twenty minutes, though? And we're not allowed to leave early until next year.

JULIET:  
No one knows that we're juniors. I've been craving Shake Shack for _days._

RUBY:  
You don't have a car, though.

JULIET:  
We can take Hamzah's.

KARIMA:  
What?

JULIET:  
Please?

KARIMA:  
You know that it's not his car, right? It's Sohrab's.

JULIET:  
They're basically the same person, it's fine.

KARIMA raises her eyebrows at JULIET, who groans dramatically. KARIMA sighs.

KARIMA:  
I'll text him, but he's gonna make us get him something.

JULIET:  
Fine with me.

KARIMA gets to her feet, her phone out, and JULIET looks over at RUBY.

JULIET;  
Are you coming?

RUBY:  
Oh, um...

She shrugs, trying to keep her face neutral.

RUBY:  
I'm not really hungry.

KARIMA frowns.

KARIMA:  
Really? I didn't see you eat anything at lunch.

RUBY:  
Yeah, but I can't really eat at Shake Shack anyways. it's mostly burgers, so...

KARIMA:  
Oh, true.

JULIET has her eyebrows creased, trying to figure out what else is there, but she lets it go for now.

JULIET:  
Okay. See you, Ruby.

RUBY:  
Bye.

JULIET and KARIMA leave, leaving RUBY alone. She sighs, letting her head lean against the wall, as she picks up her phone and scrolls mindlessly through it.


	5. I Feel Like Myself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for allusions to eds at the beginning and violence at the end!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 9:17 P.M.

EXT. BACKYARD

EDM music plays as the camera pans over shots of teenagers having fun in a backyard, standing in the dim glow of fairy lights.

The camera pans towards RUBY, who is standing alone, her hands closed around a cup of water. She looks a bit detached, not fully there, as she usually does at parties this big. It's an improvement from last week, though.

After a couple of moments, HOLLY appears beside her, looking flushed and happy and holding a plate and a cup. She takes a sip from her cup, smiling at RUBY.

HOLLY:  
What's up?

RUBY smiles back.

RUBY:  
Not much.

She looks up.

RUBY:  
It's so warm tonight, I didn't expect this.

HOLLY;  
Yeah, me neither. But the weather here, it's so fucked, so I'm not really surprised.

They're quiet for a moment. Across the grass, BENJAMIN sways violently, hands clutched around a bottle of vodka. FRANKIE looks mildly irritated as he grabs BENJAMIN'S shoulders to steady him, and OWEN makes a face beside him. RUBY laughs slightly.

RUBY:  
They're crazy.

HOLLY:  
Yeah, no kidding.

She looks down at her plate, which has a strange assortment of party food on it.

HOLLY:  
I got you food.

RUBY:  
Oh, I'm not hungry.

HOLLY sighs.

HOLLY;  
Ruby.

RUBY:  
I'm just not hungry.

HOLLY:  
But it's not just that, is it?

RUBY doesn't answer, and HOLLY keeps on talking.

HOLLY:  
I haven't seen you eat lunch more than once a week. And I don't know if you're trying to lose weight or something, but you don't look good. And it's not just that you haven't been acting normal, you just...I don't know. You never look like yourself anymore.

RUBY:  
But I _feel_ like myself.

HOLLY:  
Do you?

RUBY falters for a moment, and HOLLY doesn't miss it. RUBY closes her eyes, trying to steady herself.

RUBY:  
Look, Holly, my mom's a nutritionist, okay? I know what I'm doing.

HOLLY:  
Does she?

RUBY:  
She doesn't need to. I'm sixteen. I can handle myself.

HOLLY:  
I'm worried about you, Ruby.

RUBY takes a deep breath.

RUBY:  
Then you're worrying for no reason, I guess.

HOLLY:  
Okay, seriously, it's not~~

HOLLY cuts off, catching sight of someone behind RUBY. She throws on a smile.

HOLLY:  
Elias! Hey!

RUBY whirls around to see ELIAS standing a couple of feet away from her and HOLLY, apologetic.

ELIAS:  
Sorry, I just needed to ask Ruby a question about our bio homework, I can go...

HOLLY:  
No, you're good. We'll talk about this later.

RUBY:  
Holly.

HOLLY:  
No buts. I love you.

RUBY:  
...love you too?

HOLLY smiles at ELIAS again before handing the plate to RUBY and heading off. RUBY stares down at the plate for a moment, not looking up until ELIAS speaks.

ELIAS;  
Are you okay?

RUBY:  
Yeah. Perfectly fine.

She smiles at him.

RUBY:  
So...bio question?

ELIAS:  
I didn't actually have one. I just wanted to see you.

RUBY bites her lip, trying to stop her smile from widening. They stand with some distance in between them, both cautious of their surroundings.

RUBY:  
I didn't know that Julian was a fairy lights kind of guy.

ELIAS laughs.

ELIAS:  
He's not. His sister decorated, I think. She's a freshman, so...

RUBY:  
The EDM doesn't really match it, though.

ELIAS laughs.

ELIAS:  
I don't think that Julian really cares.

RUBY:  
Yeah, I didn't think so either.

They're quiet for a moment, both looking around slightly to make sure that no one sees them. After a moment, ELIAS inches forward slightly.

ELIAS:  
So, um, I was wondering if~~

A commotion breaks through his sentence, and both he and RUBY turn in the direction of the sound. Nearby, GRACIELA is standing in front of a group of GUYS, ISAAC behind her, looking concerned. 

GRACIELA looks pissed, and the guy she's yelling at looks even more so. ELIAS and RUBY exchange a look.

ELIAS:  
I'll be right back.

RUBY nods, and as ELIAS goes to see what's going on, she follows him from a distance. On the way, she bumps into JULIAN, who's heading in the same direction as her.

RUBY:  
What the fuck is going on?

JULIAN:  
I don't know yet.

RUBY:  
Do you know who that guy is?

JULIAN:  
Yeah. I kicked their asses a couple of weeks ago, I can do it again.

He jogs over, leaving RUBY standing in shock. She watches from her distance as ELIAS gently grabs GRACIELA'S shoulders and pulls her away.

GRACIELA turns around and yells something at him, but he just shakes his head.

She relents eventually, and they start walking in the opposite direction, ISAAC next to them. Behind them, one of the GUYS sneers, calling out behind them.

GUY:  
Control your bitches, dude!

Both ELIAS and GRACIELA stop walking, turning around incredulously. Before anyone can stop her, GRACIELA has already moved forward, punching the guy square in the face.

He stumbles back a bit before moving to retaliate, but ISAAC has already pulled her out of the way before JULIAN moves in.

There's a lot of yelling, RUBY standing still among the chaos, and then the GUY goes and punches JULIAN.

A fight breaks out as the music grows louder and all other sound cuts out. People are watching, some of them recording with their phones, others calling people.

The fight gets more violent, and RUBY looks across to see a GIRL worriedly talking on the phone.

ELIAS stays out of it for the most part, making eye contact with RUBY for a moment before ducking away from the fight, ready to head back to where she is.

As police sirens round the corner, cutting through the music, one of the GUYS makes a pass at ELIAS, which he ducks from.

The guy shoves him and makes a comment, and as the police cars stop at the curb, ELIAS punches the guy back.

All sound cuts out as the camera pans towards RUBY, who looks stunned.

She looks around to see GRACIELA, who looks shocked, and then JULIET, KARIMA, and HOLLY, who are all gathered together.

She stands there for a moment, too horrified to move. The world spins, and the camera pans to RUBY'S face, which looks horrified.

After a moment, she turns around, unsure of what else to do, and walks in the nearest direction to exit.

_CUT TO BLACK IN SILENCE_

_CUT TO END CREDITS_

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr @iamaconcretewall


End file.
